Construction and property group Montpellier issued poor annual results this week.
The group's pre-tax profit for the 12 months to 30 September was £4.7m, down from £4.9m the previous year. Turnover also slipped slightly, from £445m to £434m.

Particularly hard hit was the construction division, where operating profit declined £2.8m to £3m. This fall was caused by the way that certain contracts were priced. Management changes have been introduced in some subsidiaries to counter these problems.

Paul Sellars, managing director of Montpellier, said: "While the results are a little disappointing, we have now completed the restructuring of the business, which is wholly focused on construction with revenue continuing to be generated from our property interests."

Despite the slip, Montpellier increased its dividend payment to shareholders 50% to 1.65p.